This is an abridged version of our original report in Japanese. Our readers may recall when we recently reported about DeNA’s new Showroom app. It allows users to enjoy live performances with media personalities and stars on mobile. Now the company teamed up with the anime-focused crowdsoucing platform Mugenup to launch a new service today. It’s called ‘Showroom Anime’. It lets animated characters speak and move in synchronization with live performances or with the voices of actors using real time motion capture technology that Mugenup has developed. The animated show is called ‘Kochira Musumejima Kotogakko Hosobu’ (literally meaning ‘This is Broadcasting Club at Musumejima Island High school’) where several aspiring idol girls broadcast a pirate TV show from at a ficticious remote island off Japan. The program will air through the app every Monday at 9pm, Japan time. You can check out their promotional video below.
This is an abridged version of our original report in Japanese.
Our readers may recall when we recently reported about DeNA’s new Showroom app. It allows users to enjoy live performances with media personalities and stars on mobile. Now the company teamed up with the anime-focused crowdsoucing platform Mugenup to launch a new service today. It’s called ‘Showroom Anime’.
It lets animated characters speak and move in synchronization with live performances or with the voices of actors using real time motion capture technology that Mugenup has developed. The animated show is called ‘Kochira Musumejima Kotogakko Hosobu’ (literally meaning ‘This is Broadcasting Club at Musumejima Island High school’) where several aspiring idol girls broadcast a pirate TV show from at a ficticious remote island off Japan.
The program will air through the app every Monday at 9pm, Japan time. You can check out their promotional video below.
See the original story in Japanese. Crowdsoucing platforms can be divided into two categories: 1) general purpose and 2) industry-focused. The latter is very much focused on specific business fields such as translation or design, and such crowdsourcing platforms are on the rise. MugenUp is a Tokyo-based startup that provides a crowdsourcing platform for animated content and illustrations. The company just announced that it has raised series B funding worth 130 million yen (or approximately $1.3 million) from Industrial Growth Platform and SMBC Venture Capital. MugenUp was launched back in June of 2011 as a social games developer, but that plan didn’t quite work out. So last year they shifted to work on an animation-focused platform, since they thought they would be able to take advantage of the experiences from their past projects. Readers may recall when we spoke with the startup’s CEO Ryota Ichioka back in May, he told us about how they serve as an illustration solution to many game companies who might have just a few full-time illustrators. We plan to grow into a 100-person team in a year For crowdsourcing platform operators, if you focus on a specific business sector, the fortunes of your business will…
Crowdsoucing platforms can be divided into two categories: 1) general purpose and 2) industry-focused. The latter is very much focused on specific business fields such as translation or design, and such crowdsourcing platforms are on the rise.
MugenUp is a Tokyo-based startup that provides a crowdsourcing platform for animated content and illustrations. The company just announced that it has raised series B funding worth 130 million yen (or approximately $1.3 million) from Industrial Growth Platform and SMBC Venture Capital.
MugenUp was launched back in June of 2011 as a social games developer, but that plan didn’t quite work out. So last year they shifted to work on an animation-focused platform, since they thought they would be able to take advantage of the experiences from their past projects. Readers may recall when we spoke with the startup’s CEO Ryota Ichioka back in May, he told us about how they serve as an illustration solution to many game companies who might have just a few full-time illustrators.
We plan to grow into a 100-person team in a year
For crowdsourcing platform operators, if you focus on a specific business sector, the fortunes of your business will obviously be very directly dependent on trends in that sector. The rise of the Japanese social gaming industry has helped the startup’s business grow rapidly, enabling them to raise a 100 million yen ($1 million) in funding from Japanese VC Nissay Capital back in September of 2012.
MugenUp functions as an intermediary between customers and clients, helping them find appropriate matches. A key aspect of this process is a chat system called Mugen Work Station. This allows their directors to communicate with crowdsourced workers, monitor the production process, and give workers revision requests if needed.
We heard more from CEO Ichioka about how business is going these days.
In terms of the orders we’re receiving, projects related to mobile games are continuously growing. But I think the content of games on each gaming platform is changing. For example, illustration work for card battle games is still in a high demand in browser-based gaming apps, but native app developers typically ask us to help them develop animated 3D/2D content developed with Unity.
MugenUp directors advice crowdsourced workers using the chat system.
Ichioka shared a little more about their hiring plan:
Our total number of registered crowdsourced workers will hit 10,000 very shortly. In the office, we have 60 full-time and part-time workers. With these funds, we will add people with skills to handling 3D animated content, and we plan to grow into a 100-person team in a year.
In addition, our chat system has a handy translation feature that helps our directors communicate with foreign crowdsourced workers in English and Chinese.
According to Mr. Ichioka, the chat system also keeps clients updated about how their outsourced projects are going, and an upcoming version will allow them to check how workers are creating character designs at any time.
The startup is receiving many orders for 3D content. Ichioka explained the startup’s future exists in the accumulation of these content data.
We’ve been receiving orders for 3D models of real products. They are typically orders to optimize data for actual production rather than just digital content. So we are aiming to move into a market that will replace the metal mold business.
When we look at the digital fabrication industry, 2D or 3D design data can be alternatives to metal molds. The point is not about creating products featuring popular characters, but the accumulation of design data allows the startup to analyze and predict what kind of characters or shapes will be popular in different markets.
While most of their future plans were not disclosed, they revealed that the accumulated design data includes many useful engineering tips, such as how much shrinkage you need to plan for when creating a vinyl chloride creation with digital 3D data.
We’re aiming at a comprehensive platform for design data, making the most of our experiences through our crowdsourcing platform business. We’re trying to adopt our kind of service operations and database design to genres such as toys or figure sculptures.
For anime studios out there, you will be able to easily digitize your intellectual property (such as anime characters), letting you easily partner with toy makers and co-develop derivative works.
The startup is already profitable and planning to get listed on a stock exchange in a few years. It is interesting to see how crowdsourcing work styles will be adopted here in Japan and around the world.
See the original story in Japanese. The anime business consists of many fundamental tasks, such as rough drawing, storyboard writing, and painting. Even for digitalized anime productions, these tasks still exist. It’s not the most efficient process, and can result in a harsh work environment for many who are employed in the industry. But now there’s a startup that may change all that. It’s called Mugenup. In our recent interview with its CEO Ryota Ichioka, he told us the company has acquired several thousands of crowdsourced workers, and with rapid growth thus far, it could hit 20,000 by the end of this year. The emergence of vertical crowdsourcing sites Japan’s crowdsourcing market is pretty hot right now. Crowdworks is showing good numbers, and Lancers recently completed a big funding round. We asked Ichioka to share some figures on their business, and while he couldn’t go into specifics, he says they are generating revenue in the tens of thousands of dollars every month. This is despite the fact that the startup is less than one year old. In contrast with general-purposed crowdsourcing sites like Crowdworks or Lancers, Mugenup is far more niche with its focus on anime. It functions as an…
The anime business consists of many fundamental tasks, such as rough drawing, storyboard writing, and painting. Even for digitalized anime productions, these tasks still exist. It’s not the most efficient process, and can result in a harsh work environment for many who are employed in the industry. But now there’s a startup that may change all that. It’s called Mugenup.
In our recent interview with its CEO Ryota Ichioka, he told us the company has acquired several thousands of crowdsourced workers, and with rapid growth thus far, it could hit 20,000 by the end of this year.
The emergence of vertical crowdsourcing sites
Japan’s crowdsourcing market is pretty hot right now. Crowdworks is showing good numbers, and Lancers recently completed a big funding round. We asked Ichioka to share some figures on their business, and while he couldn’t go into specifics, he says they are generating revenue in the tens of thousands of dollars every month. This is despite the fact that the startup is less than one year old.
Some artwork on the Mugenup website
In contrast with general-purposed crowdsourcing sites like Crowdworks or Lancers, Mugenup is far more niche with its focus on anime. It functions as an intermediary between clients and crowdsourced workers, helping both parties match up with the other much easier than they could before.
Until March of 2012, the startup was developing social gaming apps. But unfortunately that plan didn’t work so well. So they shifted their target client slightly to focus more on mobile game developers.
Most of the projects they’ve dealt with have been single-picture illustrations, but it’s gradually changing to character designs or 2D drawings for Unity, a gaming app integration environment for smartphone.
Things are tough for mobile game studios recently, and most would like to avoid to increase their amount of full-time workers, which means they have to rely on freelance animators or outsourced illustrators. But while most gaming studios typically have in-house programmers, they usually have just a few animators or artists. Ichioka adds:
In addition to individual workers, about 50 studios are registered on our service to receive crowdsourced orders from us, they typically create content for pachinko machines or animated films, but they usually work on our crowdsourced projects during their downtime. In terms of making the most of that downtime, our business model is sort of similar to Raksul, a discount printing startup that makes use of printing factories during their downtime.
Mugenup is a 30-person team for now, and about 20 of those are professional art directors, all comfortable providing directions to crowdsourced animators or illustrators.
For many crowdsourcing sites, what’s the most important is how to create an environment where clients and crowdsourced workers can efficiently work on projects together. At Mugenup, directors use a chat system to communicate with crowdsourced workers, monitor the production process, and give workers revision requests if needed. Surprisingly, production management processes are standardized and workers’ skill sets are well managed.
Their retention rate for such crowdsourced workers is as much as 60%, which indicates they are highly motivated. Mugenup plans extend its business beyond Japan and to start receiving orders from publishing companies or cartoonists later on.
Some project tasks are difficult to split among different crowdsourced workers. Such tasks include rough sketches or storyboard writing, which are typically an important step to determine the overall character design. To get past this obstacle, the startup asks clients to pick their favorite crowdsourced animators before placing an order, one who fits their taste exactly.
Mugenup has each client fill out a checklist, recording why they have chosen a certain animator. This process helps when placing future orders, because if a client complains that an outcome is not what they expected, they are asked to update form to give better results that can more accurately fit their preference. This process takes some time, but it definitely helps business proceed more efficiently overall. Ichioka further adds:
We believe possible to make our business more scalable, and we’ll be extending our offerings to include three-dimensional or characters in motion as well. […] In this internet era, we are aspiring to build up a new business that leverages fine Japanese craftsmanship.
He hopes that his company can go public in a few years. And given his success so far, it will certainly be a company to watch in the future.
Mugenup was launched in June of 2011, received a seed funding from Incubate Fund in December of 2011, subsequently fundraised 100 million yen (approximately $1 milllion) from Nissay Capital.
mugenup 
Junya Mori
Takeshi Hirano
